A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Witnesses report the mob prevented the fire brigade from entering the village. The army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometers from Soul, initially refused to go into Soul, according to the officer in charge. When the army finally sent three tanks to the village, Muslim elders sent them away, saying that everything was "in order now."

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This incident was triggered by a relationship between 40-year-old Copt Ashraf Iskander and a Muslim woman. Yesterday a "reconciliation" meeting was arranged between the relevant Coptic and Muslim families and together with the Muslim elders it was decided that Ashraf Iskander would have to leave the village because Muslims torched his house.

The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family's honor, which led the woman's brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians.

The Muslim mob attacked the church, exploding 5-6 gas cylinders inside the church, pulled down the cross and the domes and burnt everything inside. Activist Ramy Kamel of Katibatibia Coptic advocacy called US-based Coptic Hope Sat TV and sent an SOS on behalf of the Copts in Soul village, as they are presently being attacked by the mob. He also said that no one is able to contact the priest and the deacons inside the burning church and there is no answer from their mobile phones.

Coptic activist Wagih Yacoub reported the mob has broken into Coptic homes and has called on Copts to leave the village. "Terrorized Copts have fled and some hid in homes of Muslim neighbors," he added.

Witnesses said the mob chanted "Allahu Akbar" and vowed to conduct their morning prayers on the church plot after razing it.

God bless the Muslim neighbors hiding those fleeing the violence and might He protect His faithful from the marauding mobs. It infuriates me that this gets little to no coverage at all while we hear incessantly about the latest Charlie Sheen tweets.

2 days ago, Arabs on twitter tweeted & blogged their outrage at this story & discussed the need to make Egypt safe for all Egyptians, including Copts. I think it's important to remember that freedom loving Americans in the greatest Democracy on Earth behaved in the same way in the 50s - burning down churches of black Americans - and worse, hanging them from trees. Were the moderates in charge in the US at that time? Look in the mirror of your past before you become self righteous.

What is your point? Those of us who were not alive in the 50s have no business being outraged at the persecution of Christians in Egypt because of our country's past? How many more weeks, months, years, decades shall we restrain from being outraged at this? When we see persecution like this should we set aside time to remember the 50s? Maybe we should also set aside time to remember the late 30s and 40s as well and what was going on in Europe. I don't understand what you're getting at.

DG - the issue is that it happens so frequently wherever there is a majority muslim population. Whether in Indonesia, Nigeria, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, etc, it is other religions who are often the target of violence and murder at the hands of muslims "outraged" about something, whether it is true or not.

The difference is that we roundly condemn what was done to blacks in the '50s and earlier. And so it is that it is necessary to roundly condemn muslims when they act in the same manner.

The hypocrisy is that you condemn past actions by others and blame it on us, but you cannot bring yourself to condemn these people attacking religious minorities.

Screw you Dangergirl. I wasn't even born yet when the 50's civil rights movement was happening. My past includes the post civil rights era, affirmative action, the Bakke case, years of being told to feel guilty for abuses committed by people who died before I was dead.

I grew up in a world where (apart from the leftist victimhood jerks) people really do judge others by their character and not their skin color. I grew up in a world that expected that the US had something to give in terms of lifting people out of discrimination and despair because we had overcome our past.

It's assholes like you who don't want people to really be free. You want people who can help to wallow in self doubt and guilt and recrimination rather than getting up and stopping the abuse.

The problem isn't that the US has a flawed history, the problem is worthless jerks like you who never want the US to rise above it.

DangerGirl ~ Are you not able to differentiate the difference between murderers who operate in the dark of night and conspire to conceal their identities, but are sought relentlessly by the authorities and prosecuted when a case could be made (as in the US half a century ago), and those who murder in broad daylight, without consequence or restraint from authorities (as in Egypt TODAY)?

Or do you just hate America so much you will forgive any crime of her enemies?

Everything is going according to the Muslim president's plan. Soon the entire Middle East will be ruled by Islamic tyrannies.

And DangerGirl's Planned Parenthood has killed more blacks so far this week than the KKK has in the past 150 years. So please don't whine about the lynching of blacks when the Democratic party still ruled the South.